Facilities

Olmsted Hall of Biological Sciences

The Department of Biology is located in the Olmsted Hall of the Biological Sciences, a brick building constructed in 1973 overlooking Shakespeare Garden and the Priscilla Bullitt Collins Trail along the Fonteyn Kill.

The building was named in honor of Louise MacCraken Olmsted (class of 1932), Nancy Olmsted, MD (class of 1960), and Robert G. Olmsted, former Trustee of the college.

As part of Vassar's Integrated Science Initiative, Olmsted was significantly renovated in 2015. In addition to modern classrooms and well-equipped teaching laboratories, Olmsted Hall has faculty research laboratories, equipment and preparation rooms, and a collection of modern instruments supporting research and teaching.

Teaching Laboratories and Field Work

Studying biology requires laboratory and field experiences, and these experiences are an integral part of the curriculum from introductory biology through intermediate and advanced coursework.

For many questions, the appropriate setting is in the field where students might be investigating the ecological mechanisms of succession or collecting and analyzing galls at Vassar's Ecological Preserve (in Biology 241: Ecology) or exploring freshwater, estuarine, and marine habitats (in Biology 356: Aquatic Ecology). The Hudson Valley is rich in unique and important habitats that serve as field laboratories for our courses. The Hudson River, the Mohonk Preserve, and Vlei Bog are all regularly visited by students in field courses.

The modern microscopy suite in Olmsted Hall, funded by a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, features a confocal microscope and six fluorescence research microscopes with digital imaging capability.

Ecological Preserve

The Vassar Farm, located a short distance from the Biology Department, encompasses a 525-acre ecological preserve on which the Priscilla Bullitt Collins Field Station is located.

The field station, built in 1995, is used to study natural history, ecology, botany, and geology. It contains a library, classroom, laboratory, computers, and a modern weather station. The surrounding area offers a diversity of habitats including streams, wetlands, ponds, old-growth forest, and recently reclaimed farmland and meadows.

Phytotron

The Phytotron in Olmsted Hall is a modern facility consisting of 12 controlled-environment growth chambers. Students and faculty conduct experiments in the facility to achieve control of temperature, light, and humidity and to replicate differences in these variables and determine their impact on plants and animals.

Greenhouse and Herbarium

The Biology Greenhouse was erected in 1973 as an integral part of the Olmsted Hall of Biological Sciences. A "lean to" style greenhouse covering approximately 3900 square feet, it houses the Biology Department teaching plant collection and supports faculty and student research projects. The diverse teaching collection includes more than 700 specimens from over 120 plant families. Orchids, ferns, bromeliads, and cacti, as well as some rare and unusual plants, are part of the collection. Faculty research projects include plant reproductive ecology, insect-plant interactions, fungus-plant interactions, ecological genetics, and plant physiological ecology.

The Biology Greenhouse hosts an Open House each year in October. This offers members of the Vassar community opportunities to ask questions about plant care and learn about the teaching collection. Students, faculty and staff of Vassar College are welcome to visit the greenhouse. You can make an appointment by contacting the greenhouse. View more information on the Vassar Greenhouse Facebook Page.

Research Laboratories

In addition to providing excellent classroom instruction, Vassar College's biologists are engaged in research. Typically, these two activities are seamlessly blended in research projects conducted by student/faculty teams. It is quite common that the efforts of these investigations result in findings reported at professional meetings and published in professional journals. Research activities are supported by external sources such as the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and by the Vassar College Committee on Research.